


The Woman on the Hill

by President_Zebra



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Future, Angst, Dystopia, F/M, Future Fic, Metahumans
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-30
Updated: 2020-06-30
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:41:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,393
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25003312
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/President_Zebra/pseuds/President_Zebra
Summary: She looked out over the barren landscape of the forest, the wind blowing her hair in her eyes.She would one day find him again, and it would all be worth it.
Relationships: Cisco Ramon/Caitlin Snow
Comments: 6
Kudos: 7





	The Woman on the Hill

Caitlin looked out over the barren landscape of the forest, the wind blowing her hair in her eyes. The air crisp like a cool autumn day in the middle of summer. The evergreen trees standing tall on the side of the mountain.

She could see children playing down in the village, kicking around a bag filled with rolled-up socks in place of the ball. Little girls playing with ragged dolls with burn marks un the dolls’ faces. The parents sat by on the steps of their shared homes, watching as their offspring enjoyed the last bit of sunlight for the day. 

Caitlin formed an icicle in her hand, throwing it at a nearby pine tree, landing directly on target. She normally came up here to catch her breath, to think. But today was different. Today was the day of Barry and Iris’s 10-year vow renewal. Nora would be wearing her purple dress, _her only dress_ , and Iris would wear her modest floral white lace, pinned up at the sides so she could still walk through the snow. Barry would stand by his girls, his face clean-shaven for the occasion. 

They would do it at night when no one was around. When no one could see the _truth._ Caitlin would sit next to Ralph and Joe while Cecille and Jenna re-distributed the rings to the married couple. Nora would shriek and giggle, just like she did every year. They would tell her she would have to be quiet so _they_ couldn’t hear her. She would quiver her lip up at Barry, he would try his hardest to say no but would stand by his primary decision, knowing it was for her safety. 

No one in the village knew who they were, where they had come from. No one knew what their names were or who they loved. No one knew a thing about them. Nora and Jenna didn’t play with the other children, they were too young to be trusted with the secret.

Caitlin lived alone, at the top of the hill, away from the rest of her friends, _her family._ She thought it was best this way, distancing herself from the madness and the secrets. The best way to keep everyone safe.

Her hair was starting to turn white again, her not being able to control it much longer. Tonight would be the first time she stepped foot in the village since Barry and Iris’ last vow renewal ceremony. 

She saw Ralph from time to time, him living alone as well, at the foot of the hill, right before the entrance to the town. 

Caitlin was the woman at the top of the hill, it was what was best for everyone.

* * *

Caitlin understood why Barry and Iris did it, but she also knew the risk. Barry was still a registered metahuman, so was Nora. If anyone ever found out Iris was human, it would be over. 

Caitlin tried to only go into the village when she needed supplies, when she needed food or water. People gave her strange looks, her hair being a mixture of white and brown layers. The village only had one storehouse in the whole area, it barely having enough food for the owners, let alone the rest of the population. But it was enough for Caitlin.

These days she would barely get any sleep, lying awake on her hammock, looking up at the stars. She normally slept through the whole of winter, in a cryo-chamber that she had stolen from her father’s old lab many years ago. 

But it wasn’t Winter, or at least it was July, but it always felt like Winter for her. Locked away in her cottage, practically frozen to the outside world. Cold and alone, with no one to talk to, no one to hold her, no one to love.

Caitlin knew that was her decision, knew that she had the opportunity to go down the hill and have lunch with Ralph or play a game with Nora and Jenna, but she knew it wasn’t worth it. She knew she could be caught, she knew _they_ would come for her.

Years ago, before they had to leave _Central City_ , before they had to say goodbye to the life they once knew, she was happy, living out her days superheroing and tracking down metahumans, never thinking for one second that it could’ve been taken all away.

Until it was.

They came in numbers of ten. Going from city to city, town to town, house to house, looking for them, looking for _metas._ They never found them, they had gotten away quickly. Packing up their lives and leaving everything, and _everyone_ behind. 

Caitlin grew cold again, giving in to her frosty urges more every day. And as the years went by, she became distant as well, blocking herself off from the village. 

_Being the woman on the hill._

She knew that people had been afraid of her, knew they couldn’t look past her crystalline eyes, and her white stained hair. They could no longer see her humanity. 

She felt a tug on her pant leg, a little boy looking up at her.

“Miss, um that’s my ball.” He said, pointing at the flimsy makeshift soccer ball lying beside her feet. Caitlin nodded, picking up the toy and handing it to the little boy. He smiled up at her, but then brow furrowing as he stared longer.

“You look funny!” He yelped, pointing at her face and giggling at her. She smiled coldly, shaking her head at him. His smile quickly turned melancholy. 

She could tell he wasn’t eating enough by his size, none of them were, but he was exceptionally skinny.

“What’s your name?” He asked, looking into her eyes. She knelt down to his eye level, her bare feet kicking away some snow so she could rest her knees on the ground. 

“I’m Caitlin.” She said sternly, holding out her hand weakly. The boy took it, his small palm being enveloped by hers.

“I’m Jami,” The boy told her, releasing their hands and sitting down next to her in the snow. He winced as his hands touched the cold ground. Caitlin chuckled quietly to herself, her now being used to it after all these years.

“It’s nice to meet you, Jami, do your parents know you’re up here?” Caitlin asked concerned, noticing how far up they were from the village, a difficult trek a boy his age would have to make to get all the way up there. He shook his head, holding the ball close to his lap, he looked down as the other children played in the street, some slipping on ice as they ran around. 

“My parents aren’t here anymore,” He whispered, so quiet she could hear the shrieks of the children below. Caitlin gave him an empathetic look, knowing all too well what it meant to lose a parent. Jami stood up, holding the ball with both hands as he made his way down the path towards the village. “Thank you, Ms. Caitlin, for giving my ball back.” He stated, continuing his trek down the mountain, back home. Caitlin was frozen in her spot, her bare feet digging into the snow as she began to close her eyes. Listening for the wind, she heard footsteps behind her. 

“It’s time, Caitlin.” He said, coming closer to her burrowed form, resting a palm on her shoulder. Caitlin looked up at Barry, his face was covered in wrinkles, his hair was starting to turn grey. Nora was at his side, her mitten covered hand clasped in her father’s. Caitlin looked up at him, her eyes becoming brown again, her hair fading fully brown.

She had promised him that she would put Frost, or what was left of her, away tonight. He gestured with his hand for her to come back with them. She nodded, brushing snowflakes off of her legs and digging her toes into the ground to leverage them to help her stand. Barry grabbed hold of her forearm, balancing her as she reached down and picked up Nora, balancing the child on her hip. Nora giggled, squirming slightly in her aunt’s hold. Caitlin smiled softly, letting Nora play with her shirt as she and Barry made their way up the path, to the very top of the mountain. 

* * *

After the ceremony, Jenna and Nora were playing under the gazebo as Cecille and Joe watched them under the moonlight. Barry had Iris at his hip while Caitlin and Ralph stood across from them, separately. 

“It was a very nice ceremony Iris, as always,” Caitlin told the other woman, placing her hand on her shoulder. Iris nodded with a soft smile, placing her hand upon Caitlin’s. 

The others made their way down the hill before the Sun set in, Caitlin making her way into the cottage, boiling a fresh pot of tea on the stove. She normally wouldn’t indulge in such commodities, seeing that they were scarce in the village. But tonight was the only night that was an exception. All other days seemed the same, she would either spend it sitting in her rocking chair on the front porch, reading the only book she owned. It was a medical journal from the year 2015, it was the only book she could find when they had to run away.

The other days she would spend weeks on end in the cryo-chamber, asleep and unaware to the outside world, but it only preserved frost for so long. One week in the cryo-chamber would equate to only a day or two without frost, in the long run, it wasn’t working. 

Unlike Barry or Ralph, she couldn’t control when and where she could or would use her abilities. And unlike Cecille, the differences to Caitlin’s body physically because of her DNA could be very noticeable to the naked human eye. Caitlin would wear gloves in the village, and stay away from most people while at the storehouse. 

She wasn’t missing much by living at the top of the hill. The village was a bleak town with not much livelihood. The village was as normal as it could be, as normal as it should be.

But one night everything changed.

Weeks after the vowel renewal, Caitlin had received a knock on her door. Normally, she would open it. But all the people who would come up her knew not to disturb her this time of year. 

“Who is it?” Caitlin said reaching for her concealment precautions such as her gloves. The knock grew louder this time, more forceful this time. Caitlin got up from her chair, slowly creeping closer to the door. Another knock sounded, but this time it was only one knock, very soft.

“It’s Mrs. Rivera, ” A woman’s voice sounded on the other side of the door. She didn’t know the voice but the name sounded familiar. Caitlin had heard of her before, she was the teacher at the local school, where all the children in the village but Jenna and Nora attended. 

Caitlin slowly walked to the door, opening it cautiously to find a short Latina woman on the other side. Mrs. Rivera, she presumed, was standing on her porch her hand clutched at her side, and there was a boy next to her. 

“Jami? What are you doing here?” Caitlin asked the young child, he pressed himself further into Mrs. Rivera’s side. Caitlin looked over at the clock hanging next to her door, and then back at the two visitors. 

“Dr. Snow, I presume?” Mrs. Rivera asked, reaching her hand out for Caitlin to grasp. Caitlin shook the older woman’s hand slowly.

“I’m not a doctor anymore, but yes I’m Caitlin Snow.” She replied. Mrs. Rivera nodded and gave Jami a slight nudge to go closer to Caitlin. He obliged, letting go of her hand and walking so he was a few inches from Caitlin’s leg.

“Ms. Caitlin, can I stay with you?” Caitlin looked down at the boy in surprise, his eyes were on the verge of tears and his lower lip was jutting out. 

“I found him wandering the village late at night, I asked him where his parents were and he said to come here.” Mrs. Rivera explained. Jami looked in between the two women before running directly into Caitlin, hugging her lower half, knocking her slightly off balance. Caitlin looked up at Mrs. Rivera, pleading with her to help her. 

Mrs. Rivera came forward, prying Jami from Caitlin’s hip. 

“I’m sorry, he usually isn’t like this.” Mrs. Rivera claimed.

“Usually?” Caitlin asked, confused. Mrs. Rivera nodded, holding up her badge that indicated her position at the school. Caitlin read the badge before looking down at Jami. 

“Well, I’m happy to let him stay here, but he has only met me once, a few weeks ago,” Caitlin told the other woman. Jami smiled, running off the porch to go play in the falling snow. Mrs. Rivera shook her head.

“He doesn’t have anywhere else to go.” She started. “The school is searched every night and I don’t have any room, I have 4 children of my own.” Mrs. Rivera finished.

Caitlin nodded, looking out at Jami sticking out his tongue to catch snowflakes. Mrs. Rivera handed her a backpack, it was light, most likely only having clothes in it. 

“Jami, Ven aqui,” Mrs. Rivera beckoned Jami to her. The older woman bent down to his eye level and whispered something Caitlin couldn’t hear to him. He nodded as Mrs. Rivera patted his cheek. He ran inside the house, right past Caitlin, and landed on the couch. Mrs. Rivera waved one last goodbye to Jami, giving Caitlin a tap on her arm as she made her way back down the hill. 

Caitlin watched as the woman escaped from view and shut the door. Jami was bouncing on one of the couch cushions.

“Ok, let’s settle down ok, it’s getting late and you need to sleep.” She said, helping him get down from the couch and walked him to the dining table. Caitlin sat down as Jami walked next to her, resting at her side. 

“So Jami, you now know my full name, what’s yours?” Caitlin asked curiously. Figuring that if this little boy would be staying here for a while then she should probably get to know him. 

“Benjamin,” Jami began. “Benjamin Ramon.” 

**Author's Note:**

> So instead of writing my day 8 I wrote this instead!  
> -PZ


End file.
